A poignant docu-memoir on the Sikhs of Kashmir | Joydip Ghosal

[fond noir][blanc]BOOK REVIEW[/blanc][/fond noir]

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Those Who Stayed, The Sikhs of Kashmir
by Bupinder Singh Bali

Manjul Publishing House Pvt Ltd
2024, 308 pages
ISBN-10 ? : ? 9355436297
ISBN-13 ? : ? 978-9355436290

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Those Who Stayed, The Sikhs of Kashmir by Bupinder Singh Bali is a poignant narrative on the Sikhs of Kashmir. In this deeply personal saga, he interweaved their past, present and future which stared at deep abyss of uncertainty. In mainstream media and literature, these people were often neglected and they remained in oblivion. The author attempted to offer a deeply human perspective on the community through this book. The ordeal of this community remained undocumented. They faced scourge of terrorism, persecution, and brutalities. Despite that, they chose to stay in the homeland. They fought with the dilemma of whether to leave or not to leave. That dilemma stayed with the readers of the book also. Khushwant Singh, the author and former State Information Commissioner rightly said that no one knew their condition except those residing there. The minority narrative in Kashmir centred around the mass migration of Kashmiri Pandits. That had found a place in movies and popular literature. But the misery and predicament of Kashmiri Sikhs had been swept under the carpet. The author undertook this daunting task to bring into public domain the account of Sikhs.

Bupinder Singh Bali is a native of Kashmir. He belongs to micro- minority Sikh community. He is associated with UNIverse journal and Masters Review. He was shortlisted as a finalist in the Times of India